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The garden today, at the beginning of this new gardening year, with most of the beds now covered with goat manure.
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This morning we spent some time in the sun in the garden, planning this year’s planting and pruning the apple tree and the roses. |
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 The autumn-sown beans (left) are growing well and have recovered from the frost we had a few weeks ago. We’ve transplanted some lamb’s lettuce seedlings (above) into some of the lovely compost we’ve made |
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Our first crocus of the year is flowering and another one will be out soon. |
 This Red Admiral butterfly was enjoying the sun. |
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The chard leaves are beginning to grow again now that the weather is a bit warmer, so we picked some to make one of our favourite quick lunches – pasta mixed with chard, pancetta or cured ham and chopped garlic, topped with grated cheese and put under the grill to brown. |
olivesandartichokes 
>It's lovely to see the spring flowers begin to open. It will be a while yet here, I fear. That pasta is making me want pasta… Looks yummy!
>No bulbs here yet, but I planted them a bit late really so it's not surprising. I do a similar dish with the chard… in fact that would be perfect tonight for after our Catalan lesson, so I'd better go and pick!
>Please send some sun over here. Our weather keeps going all warm and then cold – it's exasperating.
>I wish we could begin working our soil. It's just a bit early in this wet climate: I don't want to compact my already clay-y soil.The butterfly is lovely and lunch looks delicious! Do you add the chard to the pasta so it just wilts?
>Autumn-sown beans? What did you sow C-L? In South Australia we sow peas in autumn but beans in spring / summer….maybe you mean scarlet runner beans? Or broad beans? Interesting.
>easygardener: it's similar here – a lovely spring day on Sunday, cold and wet today, but improving slowly!Jane/Mulchmaid: the chard needs a bit more cooking than spinach – we simmer it in a little water for about 5-10 minutes.Kate: We sow broad beans in autumn, then another sowing in spring so we get two crops. The same with peas and mangetout peas. I don't sow runner beans as I don't like them much, but you wouldn't sow these here until March or April, I think.